Words
by moodiful819
Summary: Words are the basis of language. Words express things. Words...aren’t always needed. .:Kakasaku:.


Something I thought up recently after remembering Oxygen by XxHot92xX and toying around with the idea of speech. It's one of my better works in recent times since I've been trying to keep my math grade afloat, but after recently finding out I have a D because of one stupid test grade, I've given up hope. Screw math, all I need is English and a calculator.

The wind rustled the leaves, green tendrils of grass caught in the breeze as he lay in the forest. It was late afternoon. The leaves were beginning to darken with the fading light and in back of the twittering of birds and the chirping of crickets, he heard the dull roar of a waterfall. A twig snapped.

"There you are. I've been looking for you, you know."

He didn't answer the feminine voice. He knew she had been looking for him. Had been for the past two weeks. His intruder sat down beside him.

"So—"

"Sakura, I'm not coming back. We can't do this." And he turned to look at the girl that had been under his tutelage for less than a year, left, then returned as a comrade. She had grown in the seven years since she had been a genin, but that thought was redundant. Many things were in retrospect. She tugged on the hem of her beige skirt before shifting her legs to a more comfortable position.

"What do you mean?" she asked, voice ringing clear as darkness slowly settled across the land. He should start making camp soon. Even with his Sharingan, he wouldn't be able to see in pitch black. His growing age was robbing him of that. He faced the tree across from them with a sigh.

"This—us—I can't give you what you want. I'm me, Sakura. You deserve better than that."

"But I'm fine with that. I'm fine with you. Why can't you believe that?" And he wanted to laugh at her straight-forwardness. She looked so innocent when she sat like that, her hands on her hips as she pouted at him. Seeing her like this, it was hard to believe she was a kunoichi capable of toppling mountains with her index finger. Despite that fact, a chuckle escaped his lips, but it quickly died, fading into the setting sun as he sobered himself. His eyes became dull.

"I don't want to. You shouldn't want me. It's wrong, Sakura. Every aspect of this shouldn't be happening. We shouldn't be more than friends. We shouldn't have feelings between us. You shouldn't want to stay by my side. I shouldn't want to kiss you. It's not right."

"But—"

"Please, Sakura. Please. Just…don't," he said wearily. Stupidly, he let his gaze stray to the side to see her looked disheartened. It pained him to see her like that, but it was for her own good. A hand entered his field of vision.

"But…I love you," she uttered softly like a whisper on the wind and not at the same time. The words were screaming at him, but he curled tighter against himself, shaking off her hand to hold his knees to his chest.

"You don't. How could you?"

"I don't know."

"That's helpful."

"I know," she apologized and from the gaps between his fingers, he could see the smile in her eyes. He shut himself further away.

"You know you should start leaving now. It's probably dark by now."

"Buried in the crook of your arms, I would believe so. It's dark here as well."

"Thank you."

"No problem," she replied airily.

"People are going to worry now. You do realize that."

"Tsunade knows where I am."

"Really? Does she know?"

"Yes."

"What's her say on things?"

"That if you screw up, she's going to gut you like a fish."

"That's a comforting thought."

"I realize that."

"Really though, you should be going back. Forget about me while you're at it."

"Really? Why?"

"Well, for starters, I have a porn addiction."

"Better than other addictions I've seen."

"I might not come back alive."

"Same here."

"You don't know what you're getting into."

"I'm pretty sure I do, but humor me."

"Well, every person I've ever loved has died."

"Every person I've ever loved has left me."

"Every teammate I've had is dead."

"My teammates abandoned me."

"I killed my best friend."

"I lost my best friend over a stupid argument over a boy."

"I'm afraid of hospitals."

"But you come anyway to say hi to me."

"I'm horrible scarred."

"I know. I've healed the wounds that lead to them."

"I have silver hair."

"My hair is pink, Kakashi. You can't get any worse than naturally pink hair."

"I might go blind one day."

"I might go insane."

"I probably won't see my 35th birthday."

"I've already lost all hope of reaching thirty worrying about you guys."

"Such comforting words."

"It's the thought that counts. Remember your attempted birthday cake?"

"You mean that burnt piece of charcoal I found when I went to investigate the smoke coming from your kitchen? I remember."

"My cooking isn't all bad."

"I know. I've stolen bits of your lunch before."

"You're welcome."

And they sat in a silence that was not at all awkward, comfortable to listen to the sounds of the forest as Kakashi sat up from the comfortable cradle of her lap. His head was still slightly warm. He looked at her.

"Why?"

"Why what?" she asked with a smile as she reached out to brush his cheek and the moonlight was caught in the sheen of her lips. He pressed her hand against his face.

"Why_ me?_" he asked, voice pained and lost and then she smiled softly at him, eyes glowing as she wound her arms around his neck laughing softly.

"Because I love you."

And then they kissed and words were no longer needed.


End file.
